A Little Heresy, the Dead Sea Scrolls and Dead Men Who Tell Tales

Being Bible geeks we all love a good read. You know, when we have the time to plug in a little extra between our 480-900 pages a night we have to do for classes. The editors, writers, copy boys and coffee girls of Biblical Archeology offer a list of free download-able books covering a range of topics from the burial of Jesus to the Dead Sea Scrolls. Grab a cup of wine and settle in for some archaic reading.

Here's a little tid bit that may prove to be a very juicy bit of heresy. The National Geographic Channel opens Exploration Week with a new tablet that may offer evidence of a "preexisting messiah" - Simon. From the website:

He called himself the King of the Jews, likely considered to be a Messiah. Just around Passover, the Romans killed him and crucified many of his followers outside Jerusalem. But his name was not Jesus... it was Simon, a self-proclaimed Messiah who died four years before Christ was born. Now, new analysis of a three-foot-tall stone tablet from the first century B.C., may speak of an early Messiah and his resurrection. We'll go to Israel to assess this unique and mysterious artifact, including comprehensive review of the script and content by a Dead Sea Scroll expert. Then, from Jerusalem to Jericho, we'll investigate key archeological ruins that could help prove Simon was indeed real.

Meanwhile the Spaniards have dug up a city along the Euphrates dating 2,600 years before Christ. Not that archeological finds always shake up the roots of our faith but, hey, this one is kinda cool. It's circular. See, that wasn't quite so common in the Euphrates Valley. In fact, this is only the second one found with this kind of layout, the other about 200 km away. Archeologists are comparing the find to Pompeii in significance. See? Dead guys really do tell tales.